AOL, Google expand partnership - The Boston Globe

Maybe the second time will be a charm for Google

Armstrong said the deal is an improvement economically and declined to disclose specifics of the revenue-sharing split. AOL talked to five or six potential partners before deciding on Google and negotiations intensified in July, he said.

In 2006, Google beat out advances from Microsoft Corp. and renewed a search agreement with AOL originally signed in 2002. To seal that deal four years ago, Google bought a 5 percent stake in AOL for $1 billion. Google wrote down the investment by $726 million in 2008 and last year Time Warner bought back the stake for $283 million. Armstrong has said that 2006 pact was done “purely for money.’’

The new agreement doesn’t include upfront payments or equity stakes, he said today.

AOL, Google expand partnership - The Boston Globe